Malazan

[Koivu]

Does anyone else feel that Erikson should go back and retcon some of the earlier pieces? I seem to remember in Deadhouse Gates that Karsa was described as a silent Toblakai youth, and overall given far more "innocent" description than the out-and-out badassery we see in House of Chains.

[joeintokyo]

Originally Posted by Koivu

Does anyone else feel that Erikson should go back and retcon some of the earlier pieces? I seem to remember in Deadhouse Gates that Karsa was described as a silent Toblakai youth, and overall given far more "innocent" description than the out-and-out badassery we see in House of Chains.

My memory says a bit different.

It seems that he was always loud mouthed and impetuous while not really understanding others. He kind of saw himself as the center of the world which is why he never noticed that the girl that he was chasing was shagging his best friend. In addition he made about a million vows and that was just before leaving the village.

So I think that the Karsa now is the same but with more experience and the confidence that he is now indeed the badass that he once thought he was...or at least pretty close to it.

[Koivu]

I'm not talking about Karsa's development as a character, just the way Erikson describes him in different novels. I quote from Deadhouse Gates.

A giant of a man stood over him, his face tattooed like shattered glass. A long single braid hung down the left side of his chest. The man wore a cloak of bhederin hide over a vest of armour that seemed made of clam shells. The wooden handle and stone pommel of a bladed weapon of some kind jutted from just under his left arm. The broad belt over the man's loincloth was oddly decorated with what looked to Kalam like dried mushroom caps of various sizes. He was over seven foot tall, yet muscled enough to seem wide, and his flat, broad face gazed down without expression.

The man who now held the Book of the Apocalypse heard the gruff whisper and snorted. 'You fancy no mortal could get that close to you without your hearing him. You tell yourself it must have involved magic. You are wrong. My companion is Toblakai, an escaped slave from the Laederon Plateau of Genabackis. He's seen seventeen summers and has personally killed forty-one enemies. Those are their ears on his belt.'

The Toblakai youth leaned on his two-handed ironwood sword. A battered bronze helmet missing a cheek-guard was on his head, his eyes hidden in the shadow of a slitted half-visor.

The point of view is Kalam's, and I just find the above passages a bit contradicting to what is later described in the House of Chains.

[Kaxmax]

I think the contradiction is the point, it's how Karsa views himself (in the beginning of HoC), versus how he's viewed by someone like Kalam or Leoman. He was more 'innocent' (I'd say naive is a better word), and slowly hardens/evolves as HoC goes on.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I do think that Karsa has become a little to much of supreme ultimate badass, especially in RG. It's fun to read, but it seems a little over the top, especially the mental aspects (like understanding Rhulad's sword). Only thing I could see making sense is if he's somehow been augmented by becoming the Knight of Chains.

[stehle]

As an aside...

I see "Toll of Hounds" comes out July 1 in the UK (as opposed to Sept 16th here in the US). While I was browsing through the UK list of Erikson books I really find myself liking the style of the UK book covers better than the US book covers. It is just a cleaner style which appeals to me more...

On to the question:

Has anyone tried ordering from the amazon.co.uk site and have the book shipped here to the states? I guess the simple question is--will it work? I tried to see if the book would ship internationally--but I didn't find the information I was looking for.

[Tabris]

Yes they ship internationally. It is not cheap - something like US$16-20 for air mail for the book. It generally takes about 2 weeks to get to you as well. If you have the money to burn, it's not that bad.

[Asmadai]

HoC Question:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I'm not finished with it yet, but can't help but ask - is Keeper/Baien'rok actually Toc the Elder? I kept getting that feeling, but couldn't remember if Toc's family was Napan or what.

Edit: Nevermind, he's apparently some guy i've not heard of.

[Tabris]

So apparently the limited edition of Return of the Crimson Guard has been shipped out and people are saying it is pretty darn good.

[Suineg]

I had them ship from amazon.co.uk all the way to Iraq which means it went to California first to get on a flight out here.

It got here before the package my wife sent out..... either she is real lazy or they know how to ship with all the right options.

[EmiliaEQ]

Almost finished reading Book1....

It went from interesting (Rake) to Pathetic (Defeat of the Jaghut Tyrant) to awesome (Killable Gods) to weird (300.000 year old Tlaan Imass).

While the world is made interesting with the Empire, the Lost Races, and some Batshit Insane Magic.
I've been very dissapointed so far.....

For example :
The buildup & history behind the Jaghut Tyrant is awesome.
His liberation is very very very simplistic
His coming to the surface is great !
Why didnt we hear more of 5 "Moon's Dragons" before ?
The Acorn/Tree bullshit is really lame.
The defeat of the Jaghut Tyrant is sooooooo retarded i dont even have words to describe it.


I'll read futher but only out of curiosity for Anomander Rake & Tlaan Imass.

[Candiarie]

Those were pretty much my thoughts too after reading the first book Emilia. The story up until the end was enough to keep me reading the rest of the series though. They do get much better closure wise, and also he explains more about the tree deal so it gets a little less weak than it seems at first.

[Aamina]

No, you must think that the first book is badass or gtfo of the thread. The closure does get better though, I think the first two books are the hardest and the worst.

[EmiliaEQ]

Originally Posted by Aamina

No, you must think that the first book is badass or gtfo of the thread. The closure does get better though, I think the first two books are the hardest and the worst.

I hope it does, because that whole acorn/house/bodyswapping/landmine/azath deal with the Jaghut was fucktardesque.

The main selling points are so far... at least for me:
- Anomander Drake & Friends (not of this world / 5 dragons / dragnipur)
- Tlaan Imass (300.000 Yo / Gathering)
- Insane Batshit Magic

The whole "warren" thing was a bit complicated at start, because it is both
the access to a specific school/type of magic, and also planeswalking.

So "open a warren" could be :
1) gather mana to cast a spell
2) open a wormhole/stargate and start planeswalking


Laught as you want, but it kinda felt like fight club...
Slow start, Great Buildup, Insane Scenes, totally retarded ending.

[Tabris]

Originally Posted by EmiliaEQ

I hope it does, because that whole acorn/house/bodyswapping/landmine/azath deal with the Jaghut was fucktardesque.

The main selling points are so far... at least for me:
- Anomander Drake & Friends (not of this world / 5 dragons / dragnipur)
- Tlaan Imass (300.000 Yo / Gathering)
- Insane Batshit Magic

The whole "warren" thing was a bit complicated at start, because it is both
the access to a specific school/type of magic, and also planeswalking.

So "open a warren" could be :
1) gather mana to cast a spell
2) open a wormhole/stargate and start planeswalking


Laught as you want, but it kinda felt like fight club...
Slow start, Great Buildup, Insane Scenes, totally retarded ending.

Do you think Salvatore is a good fantasy writer, by chance?

[Agraza]

I miss the genebackis campaign. WTB more genebackis, less seven cities. God I hate the seven cities so much. The books about the place are awesome, I just hate the place and the people in it. Ah well, moving on to tier'dal land now.